James Jr. and the Riddle of Life
by Booger and Co
Summary: James Jr. is Harry's son. He goes to Hogwarts and finds an interesting riddle. Actually, two of them. READ/REVIEW OR WE'LL EAT YOU!!!
1. The Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: The stuff you recognize does not belong to us.  It belongs to J.K. Rowling.  The Sorting Hat song belongs to me (Nocturna)

James Jr. and the Riddle of Life

Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express

Nick ran through the barrier on to platform 9 ¾.  The Hogwarts Express was waiting in all of its scarlet splendor.  His mother, Hermione Weasley, was glowing proudly as he staggered up the stairs with his trunk.  He was closely followed by James Potter, whose father was too busy to take him to the train.  James went into the nearest compartment that was filled with females, and started to brag about his father.  _Stuck up pompous brat,_ Nick thought bitterly. He was forced to be friends with James by his mother.  She felt sorry for James because his mother had died and left Harry to raise him.  After all, with Harry's great parenting skills who wouldn't be sorry for him?  Nick shook his head in disgust and left, lugging his trunk after him.  He came into a compartment that only had two girls in it, and they didn't look like the giggling type.  One of the girls, small and skinny with dark hair and dark eyes, glared at him over her book, then went back to it, ignoring him completely.  The other girl had blond hair that was tied up in a loose ponytail.  She didn't even looked up. She just turned over a page in her sketchbook and stared at him, then began to draw.

"Um…hi.   My name is Nick," he said nervously.

"I'm Catherine, and this is my sister Stella," the black haired girl said then went back to her book.  Suddenly the door burst open, and James waltzed in.

"There you are Nick! Oh, who are these lovely ladies?"  said James very loudly. The lovely ladies ignored him.  Then Stella turned over the page in her sketchbook and began drawing furiously.  James looked at them and tried again.

"Hi I'm James Potter, you have probably heard about my father Harry Potter.  You know, the one who defeated You-Know-Who when he was just a baby."

"Yeah, too bad he hasn't been able to beat Voldemort since then."  Catherine commented, not noticing that James and Nick had flinched when she said Voldemort.  Just then James' fan club of giggling girls came and swept him back to where he was before.  Nick sat down across from the girls.  Stella smiled triumphantly.  She showed a drawing to Catherine, who sniggered.

"Does your sister talk at all?"  Nick asked.

"Of course I do," Stella whispered.  James reentered, and grinned at Nick, then sat next to him. James then nudged Nick and winked at him.  Nick rolled his eyes. _Great just when the conversation was starting to…um, well never mind _he thought angrily.  Catherine glared at James, and Stella gave Nick a sympathetic smile.  James then got up and sat between Stella and Catherine, and put his arms around their shoulders.  Stella immediately got up and went and sat next to Nick.  Catherine picked up James' arm disdainfully, and placed it in his lap like it was a dead fish.  Nick grinned.

"What's the matter, don't you like me, um, uh, Cassandra?"  James said looking hurt.

"My name is Catherine," said Catherine pointedly.

James waved his hand.  "I was close.  So don't you like me, Cathy?"

"Catherine."

"Fine.  _Catherine. _Well, what's wrong with me? I'm the son of The Boy Who Lived," said James.

"Well good for you," answered Catherine.

"Hey you, Blondie, do _you_ like me?"   James asked Stella.  Stella glanced at Catherine as if to say 'go ahead'.

"Her name is not Blondie, it is Stella."  Catherine glared as she said this.  Stella glared too, then went back to drawing.

"What, is she dumb?"  asked James.  Stella glared.

"No I'm not," she whispered.

"She only talks to people she wants to," Catherine added.  Nick snorted with laughter.

"So she wants to talk to me, well of course, who wouldn't."  He smirked and left before anyone could correct him.  Catherine glanced at Nick and then at the door.

"Are you friends with that loser?"  she asked.

"I wouldn't call him a loser, I prefer …"

"Stuck up pompous brat," Catherine and Nick said together.  Stella looked at them both and cracked up, Catherine joined and finally Nick.

"I'm only friends with him because my parents make me, they were friends with Harry." 

"Just because they were friends, doesn't me you have to be.  I mean he's got his little fan club to keep him busy," said Catherine.  

"I guess you're right.  It's just that our families get together so often…"

"Well, we're going to Hogwarts now.  No families," Catherine said firmly.

Nick smiled.  "Yeah, you're right.  Thanks, Catherine.

"You can call me Cat."  Stella glanced up, a little surprised.

"But you told James…" Nick trailed off uncertainly.

"I don't like James," was all Catherine said.  Stella snickered softly.  Nick smiled.

They spent the rest of the trip talking.  Well, Catherine and Nick talked.  Stella whispered the occasional comment, but mostly she sketched.  The train finally came to a full and complete stop, and everybody jumped off.

"Firs' years, firs' years," said the biggest guy Catherine and Stella had ever seen.

"Cat, is that the biggest man you ever saw," Stella whispered

"Yeah, Star, he is really big," Catherine whispered back.

"That must be Hagrid the Hogwarts gamekeeper, my parents told me about him," Nick said.  After a short walk they came to a lake with boats.

"Four to a boat," Hagrid called.

Nick, Cat, Stella and some other girl got into one of the boats.  James and three select members of his fan club sat in another.  They pulled up to the castle, and Hagrid knocked on the door.  A stern witch answered the door.

"Thank you Hagrid. I am Professor McGonagall.  You will be sorted into your houses shortly."  As they waited, rumors began to be whispered about the tasks they would have to perform.  Nick, Cat and Stella knew better than to think they would have to duel each other or fight a dragon, but they were all a little nervous about the Sorting.  Suddenly a short wicked looking man flew over them,

"Ho ho, ickle firsties!"  He began to cackle and throw water balloons.  Stella dodged, and one of the girls in the James Potter Fan Club got splashed.  She shrieked and jumped back, causing three other girls to fall on the floor.  Cat rolled her eyes.  Just then, Professor McGonagall came back and started yelling.

"PEEVES! Go away and leave the first years alone!" She turned back to the students.  "All right, follow me."  They followed her into a giant room where there were four big long tables.  In the front of the room there was the table of the teachers, and a stool that stood alone with an old battered hat.  As they watched the hat began to sing.

"Once there were four wizards

The best in all of the land

They each chose students for their house,

Picked by their own hand.

In Ravenclaw the clever rule,

Those who are wise and smart,

In Hufflepuff dwell loyal folk,

Hard workers, true at heart.

Gryffindor, where dwell the brave

Those of courage true,

In Slytherin those with ambition

Shrewd and cunning too.

So since the Founders are not here,

Just put me on your head,

I will look inside your mind,

And choose your house instead."

 The crowd burst into noisy cheers.  Professor McGonagall unrolled a scroll and began reading names.

"Afenlosse, Eleanor!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table.  Eleanor went over to join them as "Boot, Alric" became a Hufflepuff.  Stella and Cat looked bored as the other names were read.

" Malfoy, Loki!"

"SLYTHERIN!"  

"Oh big surprise."  Cat whispered. Nick glanced at her.

"You've heard of the Malfoys too?" he whispered to her.  She shrugged.

Before long it was James' turn.

"Potter, James!" Whispers and murmurs filled the hall.  James swaggered over to the stool and put the hat on.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Dang it!" said Nick.

"Riddle, Catherine!" Cat shot a glance at the teachers' table, then walked over to the stool.  Nick could tell she was trying to look calm, but he could see that she was nervous.  Before long, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"  Looking slightly relieved, Cat went over to the Gryffindor table.  She sat as far away from James as she could.

"Riddle, Stella!" Stella did a better job of appearing calm, but her cheeks went slightly pink as everyone looked at her.

"RAVENCLAW!"  Stella slid into a seat at the Ravenclaw table, looking disappointed.  She mouthed something silently across the room to Cat, who shrugged and mouthed something back, nodding towards James.  Stella smiled a little.

            "Weasley, Nicholas!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"  Joining Cat, Nick watched the twins' silent conversation.

"You guys look like fish," he commented.

"Xanthippe, Violet!"  The girl who had been on the same boat as them walked up.

"Xanthippe?" Nick muttered.  Cat frowned.

"Don't make fun of other people's names," she hissed.  "It's not their fault."

"RAVENCLAW!"

Violet went and sat next to Stella and began talking quietly to her.  Stella looked a little happier. 

The sorting had finished.  Dumbledore stood up and spoke.

"I'm sure you're all as hungry as I am, but I must make a few announcements.  First, the Forbidden Forest is called forbidden for a reason. No student may enter the forest.  Second, we have a new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Weasley."  The new teacher stood up as the students clapped.

"I don't believe it, it's my Uncle Bill!" Nick told Cat through the applause.

"One last word for you all: Balloonsquawk! Now, dig in."  The plates had been magically filled with food and everyone dug in.

After the feast they were led to their dormitories by the prefects.  The Gryffindors stopped in front of a painting of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.  The prefect gave the password, "Eskimo," and they went inside.  Cat went up to the girls' dorm with two other girls.  As soon as they got into the dorm, one girl let out an excited squeal.

"Oh my God! We have James Potter in our house!"  She pulled out a hairbrush and started brushing her long dark hair.

"Don't remind me," Cat muttered.  "He'll probably lose us a bunch of points."

"How can you say that? He's James Potter – the son of the Boy Who Lived!"

"Yeah, I heard." Cat opened her trunk and began to unpack.  She pulled out several large, thick books and set them on the table by her bed. 

The last girl came over to her and said, "Hi.  I'm Eleanor."

"I'm Catherine."

"And I'm Cassandra." The dark-haired girl put down her hairbrush and started unpacking makeup.  Eleanor watched with wide eyes.  

"I didn't know it was possible to own that much makeup," she said quietly.

"And she appears to be wearing all of it at the same time," Cat added.

Their conversation had been too quiet for Cassandra to hear.  She picked up a bottle and started spraying it on her hair.  An overwhelming smell of decaying flowers filled the air.  Eleanor coughed.

"Do you have to use that nasty stuff?" Cat choked.

"It's not nasty!  It's a heavenly blend of morning glories and honeysuckle!"  Cassandra said indignantly.

"Well, it smells like compost to me," Cat muttered.

Meanwhile, after giving the password, "Private joke," four girls went up to the Ravenclaw dorm and started unpacking.  Stella pulled out her easel, which had been magically packed in her trunk.  She set it up in the corner with her blank canvases.  Violet smiled and unpacked her books for school and started petting her cat LouLou, a gorgeous tabby.  Violet had violet eyes and straight brown hair.  The other two girls were unpacking, one girl with red hair and hazel eyes unpacked her books for school and her "light" reading books that were as long as the unabridged version of the 'Count of Monte Cristo'.  The other girl had chestnut hair with brown eyes was unpacking her blue contacts and makeup.  She wore just the right amount of makeup.

"Hi, I'm Michelle," said the chestnut haired girl.

"Hi, I'm Jessica," said the red head.

"Hi, I'm Violet," said Violet.

"Hi, I'm Stella," whispered Stella, then she opened her book and began to sketch.


	2. Life at Hogwarts

AAAANNND…(drumroll) here's chapter two!!!  Special thanks to Nocturna's little brother for helping her write the flying lesson part.  All of you reading this, REVIEW!! Or there will be CONSEQUENCES! SEVERE consequences! (Please review.  Pretty please.)

Disclaimer: We still don't own it. Soon we'll own the world, but J.K. Rowling still owns this. 

Chapter 2: Life at Hogwarts

            The next morning, everyone went down to the Great Hall for breakfast.  As they sat the owl post came in and gave most students letters and packages that contained items they had forgotten.  After everybody had eaten, schedules were passed out, and Stella came over to the Gryffindor table to compare schedules with Cat and Nick.  

            "Oh no! Double Potions first!" Nick exclaimed.  "Wait, at least Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are together."  

            "Oh hey we have Flying and Herbology together too," said Stella.

            "Why did they have to give us double Potions first thing on Monday?"  Cat complained.

            "Yeah, my dad told me that Professor Snape is kind of…." Nick said.

            "Annoying?"  Cat supplied.

            "Well that's not the exact word that he used, but it'll work," said Nick.  After breakfast Nick, Cat and Stella went down to one of the roomier dungeons in the castle.  They crept in and got a table at the back, and Violet sat with them.  The tables held four people each and with in those tables there were two pairs of partners.  Once they were all seated Snape walked in with his jet black robes billowing behind him looking like an old overgrown bat. (A/N ~Not like me.  Batty)  He began to take roll.  After calling a few names he came to James.

            "Potter, James.  Ah! Our new junior celebrity," he sneered.

            "Yup, that's me!"  James exclaimed enthusiastically.  Snape scowled.

            "Riddle, Catherine." He paused and looked up.  "Riddle?  Catherine would you please stand up." He frowned as she stood, and began muttering to himself, circling around her.

            "Why did you want me to stand up?  Nobody else had to!"  Cat said coldly.

            "I find that name…interesting."  He sneered at her.  "You may sit."  She sat, glaring at the old bat.

            "Riddle, Stella.  Another Riddle?  Where is Stella?"  He asked.  Stella tentatively raised a hand.  "Are you two related?"

            "Yeah, we're sisters. Why do you want to know?"  asked Cat.  Snape shook his head as if to clear it and ignored her question.  He continued to take roll.  Cat and Stella glared at him, and Nick looked confused.

"X-an…uh…Zan…uh…Violet?"

Violet sighed.  "Zan-thih-pee.  I'm here."  Snape looked at her coldly and moved on. 

"Weasley, Nicholas. Ah, yes," he said as Nick raised his hand.  "I remember your father…and mother…and the rest of your overlarge family."  He gave Nick an unpleasant look. Nick joined the glare-at-Snape party.  Snape didn't notice. He began to instruct them in a simple potion.  After a while he walked back over to the table where Stella, Cat, Violet and Nick sat.

            "Miss Riddle!"

"Yes?" two voices responded.

"You!" He pointed to Cat.

"I'm Catherine."

"Don't talk back to me! Are you sure you are making that potion right, _Catherine_?" Snape loomed over them looking very much like a demon.

            "Yes Sir, I'm doing everything you told us to," she said, mockingly innocent.  She added a handful of powder and the potion turned green.  "See it turned green, just like it is supposed to."

            "Miss Riddle you're being pert, to help you gain respect for teachers I shall remove 10 points from Gryffindor."  He smirked happily as he doled out the punishment.

            "10 points? Isn't that a little extreme?"  Cat asked.

            "Unless you want me to make it 20 I suggest you keep quiet."  He then turned to Stella  "Miss Riddle, what is that thing in your hair?"

            "It's a quill," Stella whispered, looking terrified.  He snarled  "Kindly keep quills out of your hair, 5 points from Ravenclaw."

            "For having a quill in her hair!"  Cat muttered rebelliously.

            "Shhhhhh!"  whispered  Nick. Snape glared and left to go bully another student.  Finally the Potions lesson was over and they all headed back to the Great Hall for lunch.  Stella sadly waved good-bye and went to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to Violet.  Nick and Cat sat at the Gryffindor table as far away from James as they could.

            "What was with Snape he really picked on you and Stella.  What is wrong with the name Riddle?" asked Nick.  Cat shrugged.

            "He's Snape, does he need an excuse to be mean?"  she asked.  Nick grinned.  As lunch was drawing to a finish, Stella dug through her bag and pulled out all the quills she owned.  One by one she stuck them in her hair, then stood up and walked directly in front of the teachers' table over to where Nick and Cat were sitting.  Nick could barely stand up he was laughing so hard.  Snape looked furious.

            After lunch the Gryffindors went to Transfiguration.  The Ravenclaws went to Charms. Nick and Cat sat down together in the Transfiguration classroom.  James, laughing loudly at something someone in his fan club said, followed them in and sat down near them. Cat took one look at him, then grabbed her bag and Nick and went to the other side of the room.

            "Why did you do that?" Nick asked.

            "I'm not going to sit next to James "Junior Celebrity" Potter for the whole class," Cat responded.  Just then Professor McGonagall came in.  She took the roll quickly and without a fuss, then started lecturing the class on the finer points of beginning Transfiguration.  After giving them lots of notes that most of them didn't understand, Professor McGonagall turned her desk into a pig and back, then passed out matches and told the class to turn them into needles.  At the end of class the only one who had a needle was Eleanor.  Cat managed to light her first match on fire and had to get another one.  On her second try, her match turned silver but it still wasn't a needle.  Nick somehow managed to produce what looked like a wooden needle.  As they left the class, James could be heard complaining loudly about how difficult the class was, and how outrageous it was that he had to do such demanding tasks.  

While the Gryffindors struggled in Transfiguration, the Ravenclaws were doing Charms.  Violet and Stella chose seats in the front row of the double layered horseshoe of desks.  Each desk had a feather on it, as they were examining the feathers a really short wizard stood on a pile of books and began to lecture them on the charm Wingardium Leviosa.  This was a levitating spell nobody got on the first try except for Jessica.  Stella had managed to singe her feather into a bright purple color, while Violet blew up the feather in a cloud of green smoke and finally got it to levitate a few inches.  At the end of the lesson everyone was tired and cranky.  They left to go on to Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

That night Nick and Cat met Stella on the way to dinner. 

"That has got to be the most boring class in the world," Cat groaned.

"What?" Stella asked.

"History of Magic," Nick answered.  "All he did was talk about house-elf rebellions that probably never happened."

"Well, Defense Against the Dark Arts was pretty interesting," Stella said.  "Your uncle is cool, Nick."

*          *          *

The next morning, the sleepy students headed into the Great Hall for breakfast.  "Where's your sister?" Nick asked Cat, scanning the Ravenclaw table.  Just then Stella walked in, looking like her mind was a million miles away.  Her blond hair had streaks of red paint in it, and there were black smudges on her face.

"Looks like she was working on a painting," Cat said. "Probably spent all night on it." She waved to her sister, then tapped her cheeks.  Stella vigorously rubbed the black paint smears off.  Cat gestured to her hair.  Stella reached up, looked at the paint, shrugged, and sat down to eat breakfast.  Cat took her toast and went over to the Ravenclaw table, ignoring the glares of several Ravenclaws as she sat down.  "Were you up all night painting again?" she asked Stella.

"What do you think?" Stella responded.

"What did you paint this time?"

"My deepest feelings about James Potter," Stella said.  "That's what all the red paint is about."

*          *          *

On Thursday afternoon all the first years had flying lessons together.  They trooped out to the Quidditch field where Madam Hooch was waiting for them.  Each student moved to stand by a broom, but before Madam Hooch could even open her mouth there was a huge BOOM!  Everyone jumped, looking around wildly for the source of the noise.  It wasn't hard to find.  Off on the edge of the field there was a large column of smoke drifting up towards the sky.

"Excuse me, I have to figure out what's going on," Madam Hooch called.  "Touch those brooms and you're in deep trouble." She ran off towards the smoke.  The students looked at each other.  Cassandra took the opportunity to move closer to James.

"Is it true you're an expert on flying?" she giggled.

"Of course I am," James bragged.  "Here – watch." He grabbed a broom and prepared to kick off.

"Wait –" Nick protested.

"Something wrong?" James asked him grinning.  Nick opened his mouth again, but Cat got there first.

"Nope," she said, and smirked at Nick and Stella.  James pushed off from the ground and began showing off how well he could fly.

"Watch this, Cassie!" he called as he swooped by her head.  Cassandra squealed.  "Bet you can't do this!" he added as he hovered near the Slytherins.

"I bet I can!" Loki Malfoy snarled, and flew up to join James.  They began matching each other on the brooms, doing more and more complex tricks.  Cat shook her head.

"Boys," she muttered.  Stella and Violet nodded.

"Hey!" Nick protested.

"You don't count," Violet told him.

"Oh, thanks a lot."

*          *          *

Later that afternoon (James and Loki had managed to get down to the ground before Madam Hooch returned, muttering about idiotic pranks, much to Cat's disappointment) Cat decided it was about time she found where her sister lived.  Nick was busy talking to some of the boys in his dorm, so she slipped quietly out of the portrait hole.  She didn't really know where the Ravenclaw common room was, but she knew the general direction that the Ravenclaws usually went in.  She started wandering around the corridors, mostly at random.  After a few minutes, though, she spotted a trail of paint drops.  It led from a girls' bathroom to a statue.  Figuring this was the entrance to the common room, Cat stared at the statue, wondering what the password was.  Just then the statue moved aside and a section of wall opened.  A tall boy of about fifteen stepped out.

"Oh, hi," he said to Cat.  "Did you forget the password?"

"Um…yes," Cat answered.

"Don't worry.  Lots of people do.  It's 'private joke.'"

"Thanks," Cat said and slipped through the hole in the wall.  Once inside she just had to follow the trail of paint to find the right dorm.  Stella stood in front of her easel, surveying the painting on it with satisfaction.  She had succeeded in washing most of the paint off herself.

"Hi, Star," Cat said as she moved to see the painting.  

"Oh hi Cat," Stella answered. "Like the painting?"  A small figure of James Potter stood in the middle of the canvas.  The background was full of angry swirls of red and black. 

"I love it," Cat said.  "You should hang it in the Gryffindor common room."

"I'll let you do that," Stella said.  "I haven't gotten around to figuring out where it is.  Speaking of which, you should probably leave."

"Why?"

"It's Robert – the captain of the Quidditch team.  He's a little, well, paranoid.  If he knew a Gryffindor was in here, he'd probably have a fit."

"Sounds like fun," Cat grinned.  "I'll keep that in mind.  If you send the painting up to my dorm, I'll make sure it gets hung where James can appreciate it."

Stella, who knew that her sister wasn't joking, nodded.  Suddenly her eyes lit up.  "That's it!" she cried. "I just had the most brilliant idea!" She grabbed her sketch pad and began to draw furiously.  Cat grinned and left the room.  On the way out of the Ravenclaw common room she bumped into a rather unpleasant-looking boy.

"You don't belong here, do you?" he asked her suspiciously.

"You must be Robert," Cat said cheerfully.  "Don't worry, I was on my way out." 

"How did you know my name?" the boy asked.

"See you later, Bobby," Cat called as she brushed by him, ignoring his indignant splutters behind her.

The next morning Stella wasn't at breakfast.  Cat would have gone to look for her, but all the Gryffindors were running a little late due to an incident involving Peeves and several dungbombs.  As a result, she didn't see her sister at all that morning.  She wasn't worried, though.  She suspected that Stella had just been completely absorbed in her artwork.  As she was walking to the Great Hall with Nick for lunch, Professor Weasley walked up.

"Hi, Nick.  Hello, Catherine," he said.  "Are you Stella Riddle's sister?"

"Yes," Cat responded.  "Why?"

"Well, she wasn't in class today, and she didn't go to Transfiguration either.  I checked with Professor McGonagall."

"Oh, great," Cat sighed.  "When she gets absorbed in a painting, she doesn't notice anything around her."

"She paints?"  Professor Weasley asked, interested.  Just then Stella ran up, panting.  There were streaks of blue and green on her face, and purple all over her robes.

"Sorry, Professor," she gasped, panting.  "I didn't mean to miss class – I just lost track of time."

"Well, okay," Bill Weasley said, smiling a little.  "But make sure you don't miss any more classes."

"You're not going to give me a detention?" Stella asked hopefully.

"No – I think you'll be getting plenty of that from Professor McGonagall."

"Oh, shoot!"  Stella raced off in the direction of the Transfiguration classroom.  Cat shook her head.  Nick just looked amused.

~*End of Chapter Two*~

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